The Nobodies
by zentanglebubblegum0727
Summary: "Hand them over, and nobody gets hurt," he had said. 'Nobody.' One of those nobodies was Ian Cobra himself, and all of them knew it.


His eyes were reduced to slits as he pursued the figure walking through the fog of San Francisco. It was like London, minus the red bridge he could just make out. He almost tripped on a flat piece of rock, and scowled. How…undignified.

 _Her eyes were wide as she realized that he was still following her. She slipped a bit ahead as she heard him trip himself on a rock. How…undignified. She almost smiled. Almost. Tugging her brother's sleeve, she mouthed, 'behind'. He nodded. He understood. She had about nine minutes left._

"Did you know," he murmured, just audible, "that this red bridge was once demanded to be painted yellow and black? Or," he continued, "that if its weight was converted into real gold, it would be worth 4 trillion U.S. dollars?"

" _Did you know," she heard him whispering, just audible, "that this red bridge was once demanded to be painted yellow and black?" Of course she knew. "Or," he continued, "that if its weight was converted into real gold, it would be worth 4 trillion U.S. dollars?" That, she didn't know. Trust Ian Kabra to know everything about money. She smirked. How pathetic—he was still thinking about money after all these years penniless._

It was nerdy, he knew, but something about spewing worthless facts helped him regain his stature. It enhanced his confidence. _I know lots of things that you don't._

 _She suspected that he was nervous, and this was a way of coping. He swiveled his head around in the almost glowing white fog, as he tried to find her, to keep chasing her around. This was all part of the plan. Eight minutes._

"No, I didn't. How fascinating!" a voice whispered right into his ear, "Also, tell me something else, will you? Why were you following me since I left that coffee house?" He could almost hear the grin in her voice. It was the girl. He hoped she was unarmed.

" _No, I didn't. How fascinating!" she whispered right into his ear. She had a dart gun just brushing the back of his neck, warning him not to turn around. "Also, tell me something else, will you? Why were you following me since I left that coffee house?" She smiled. He'd be scared now. He hadn't realized she knew._

Ian didn't dare turn around.

 _Amy didn't dare take the gun off his neck._

"And maybe another, man." This voice was masculine. "Why have you lost so much talent? We could see you were following us from a mile away. Weren't you a Cobra?"

" _And maybe another, man." Dan said, standing beside her. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat, most likely pleased with their attire. He referred to their clothing as 'ninja suits'. Once a child, always a child…for some. Seven minutes. "Why have you lost so much talent? We could see you were following us from a mile away. Weren't you a Cobra?" This was a lie. They had only recently realized he was following them. He was a good spy, but not good enough._

In those last two syllables, Ian's worst fears were confirmed. There were only two people left in the world who would refer to him as Cobra.

 _Amy knew that he would now understand who they were, if not already in the know. There were only two people left the world who would refer to him as Cobra._

"Scared?" the girl asked again. "Why don't you go feed us to the sharks, then?" Ian cringed.

" _Scared?" Amy asked again, smirking. "Why don't you go feed us to the sharks, then?" It was a pointed barb, designed to pierce him. Cara Pierce. Okay, okay. Bad joke. Six minutes._

"Or lock us up in a cave." The boy said. Ian found that he had apparently lost the nervous system in his legs. A gust of wind could knock him over.

" _Or lock us up in a cave." Dan added. Another barb. This time, a poisoned one. Designed to make him paralyzed._

Ian turned around, his amber eyes flashing. Two pairs of glittering green eyes were staring back. He swallowed.

 _He turned around, his amber eyes glittering. Their eyes flashed at him, staring right back. Ian noticeably swallowed. Amy knew that he was impressed, or more likely, intimidated._

"Long time, no see." Said Amy. She wasn't smiling.

" _Long time, no see." Said Amy, revealing just a little hint of a smile, just visible. She hated to admit it, but she was slightly glad to see him, although she didn't understand why._

"Found out the clues yet?" the boy asked. He was wearing just the slightest ghost of a smile. "We have. All 39 of 'em." Trust the imbecile to tease a Kabra.

" _Found out the clues yet?" Dan asked, forcing a smile at the snake. "We have. All thirty-nine of 'em." Trust Dan to tease a Cobra._

"I know." Ian replied. It was hard for him to say, but it was true. "And you enhanced yourselves."

" _I know." Ian replied. Amy could tell it was hard for him to admit. But it was true. And he couldn't do anything about it. "And you enhanced yourselves." Of course we did. That was how they realized he was following them. If they weren't enhanced, they would have been completely oblivious. Five minutes._

"No." the boy said, to Ian's great surprise. "Not yet. Here's the thing. I know all the clues. Now all we have to do is collect them. But, we found one…quite… _mysterious_ clue, that's called _Archiemeis Phoskdyes._ "

" _No." Dan replied, putting his had behind his neck and massaging it. Amy almost said something out loud, but the 'hand behind the neck' message was something they had already perfected.  
It meant: 'trust me'_.  
 _"Not yet. Here's the thing. I know all the clues. Now all we have to do is collect them. But, we found one…quite…_ mysterious _clue, that's called_ Archiemeis Phoskdyes. _" Amy had to admit it was a pretty decent name for one thought up on the spot. Dan watched too many sci-fi movies._

"Are you mocking me?" Ian snapped. He felt a jolt of fear. How would his mother react?

" _Are you mocking me?" their rival snapped. Amy felt a jolt of fear. Did he know that this mineral was made up?_

"What are you talking about? We're not here to mock you. We're here—"He cut her off.

" _What are you talking about?" if only Dan spoke, it would be suspicious. "We're not here to mock you. We're here—"_

"By saying the name of one of the crucial ingredients, you are specifically implying that it doesn't matter whether I know them or not, because you think that I don't have the ability to collect all of the clues." Ian said all of this very quickly, because he knew that Amy would interrupt.

" _By saying the name of one of the crucial ingredients, you are specifically implying that it doesn't matter whether I know them or not, because you think that I don't have the ability to collect all of the clues." Ian rattled off. Amy didn't understand why. Did he think that she was going to cut him off? Not a chance. This was the most fun she'd had in a while._

"—here, to negotiate, or in a worse term, _threaten_ you." Amy finished, as if Ian hadn't said anything. "So don't push your luck." Amy drew out a dart gun from a concealed pocket. "I won't hesitate."

"— _here, to negotiate, or in a worse term,_ threaten _you." Amy finished. She could almost feel Ian's annoyance from where he stood. How she loved teasing him. "So don't push your luck. I won't hesitate." She pulled out a small dart gun, and waved it at him, twirling the small weapon in her fingers. She had made the weapon herself, intricately designing it. Ekaterina serum._

"Like you would ever do that to _me_." Ian smiled charmingly, going for another angle.

" _Like you would ever do that to_ me. _" Ian smiled, syrup positively dripping off every word. Her heart jumped inside, but she pushed it back in._

It was a mistake.

 _It was a perfect opportunity._

Amy shot the gun and its barbed point went right over Ian's head, so close he could feel his hair rustling. He dabbed some of the liquid which had clung to the ends of his hair with his handkerchief. He sniffed it.

 _Amy shot the gun and its poison leaked through the perfectly smooth point. It went right over Ian's head, and neatly rustled his hair. Tomas serum. Ian dabbed some of the liquid off his head with a piece of cloth. Ever careful. He sniffed it, and looked appalled. Four minutes._

"Poison 27." Ian said, trying to keep his voice flat. "Slow death on the course of the next eight hours, complete with memory loss if you survive. You were going to shoot me with that?"

" _Poison 27," Ian breathed, words shaking slightly. "Slow death on the course of the next eight hours, complete with memory loss if you survive. You were going to shoot me with that?" Of course not. Was he stupid?_

"I'm not fourteen anymore, Ian. I'm almost twenty."

" _I'm not fourteen anymore, Ian. I'm almost twenty." She used her wits to carefully avoid the question. Lucian serum again._

"Poison 27?" Dan asked, swiveling his head around to face Amy. "I thought we agreed not to kill him!"

" _Poison 27?" Dan exclaimed, more a reprimand than a question. "I thought we agreed not to kill him!" Amy almost smirked at him. Three minutes._

Amy's stony face didn't change. "So?" was all she said.

 _Her face twitched a little—she hoped no one had noticed. "So?" she asked._

Dan looked away, his green eyes betraying just a hint of fear. "Well, um, just try not to shoot him too much." He muttered.

 _Her brother looked away, looking very much afraid. "Well, um, just try not to shoot him too much." He muttered. How funny. Didn't he realize that she was a genius now? Of course not. She was the one who made this whole plan, even playing fashion designer to complete their attire. Janus serum. Two minutes._

Amy looked slightly amused. Then she whispered something to Dan. He cocked his head, but then grinned. It was obviously important. Ian wished he knew what they were talking about.

 _Amy was on the verge of bursting into laughter._ Men. _"Don't you understand, Dan?" she whispered. "I'm making him feel afraid on purpose. Isn't there some kind of pleasure from making him afraid and confused?" Here, Dan grinned. She was right, he acknowledged this. He wiggled his eyebrows._

"You know," Ian said, trying to change the subject, "how my mother would react to this?"

" _You know," he said, trying to change the subject, "how my mother would react to this?"_

It would be terrifying.

 _It would be satisfying._

But on with the plan.

 _But on with the plan._

"What do you want from me? Why are you interrogating me, and more importantly, why have you uncovered the name of one of the clues?" he asked. He was back on topic. There was no delaying this. He would have to kill her and get the clue for…for _those_ two. How he hated Cara and Isabel.

" _What do you want from me? Why are you interrogating me, and more importantly, why have you uncovered the name of one of the clues?" Ian asked. Amy noted that he had understood. There was no delaying this. He wanted the clue, to please Cara and satisfy Isabel. How she hated those two. For reasons unbeknownst, even to her. This maze inside her…what was the middle? What lied in the center of the maze? One minute._

The big, most important part of the plan was drawing near. Get something from them.

 _The big, most important part of the plain was drawing near. Get someone from them._

"Hand them over, and nobody gets hurt." He said scathingly. He desperately needed the clues. Cara had once loved him, but being an Ekaterina, she chose power over Ian. Isabel and Cara…they were like two clouds wafting over him, making him able to see into nothing but power and resentment and fear. And this new mineral… Archiemeis Phoskdyes…how would he find that? Was it even real? How could he get his hands on it? And what if, what if it was all a lie? What would he say to them? This was serious. He—

 _He was serious. Wow. He was serious about this. This…this was a joke on their part—almost a prank. A strategy to prove their power. "Hand them over, and nobody gets hurt," he had said. 'Nobody.' One of those nobodies was Ian Cobra himself, and all of them knew it. Isabel and that wretch Cara…had he been allowed to joke and playfully banter in their presence? As he had done with her? Cara and Ian…they were almost_ too _alike. And that, Amy realized, had led to the demise of their relationship. Thirty seconds. She felt unreasonable pride, and—_

She laughed, then. She was shaking, and pressed her hand delicately over her mouth to stifle the last of her snickers. At first watching her with unsuppressed shock, the boy joined in. So. What an ugly picture, in an equally ugly frame. Two Cahills, laughing at Ian Kabra.

 _Time out. Her ten minutes was over. Thirty seconds had passed. She started laughing then. It was time to let Ian Cobra on in their little plot. She clamped her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her giggles. She failed. At first, Dan had watched her in rising horror, until he realized that it was time to tell him. Time to tell the snake that he hadn't failed; that he still had hope to kill and betray them—but he wouldn't. It was wonderful. The ten minutes had passed. They were free. And it was amazing. The two of them, laughing,_ -laughing- _at Ian Cobra. He was absolutely dumbfounded. His mouth opened and he said, "Wh—"_

"What?" he was absolutely dumbfounded. Why were they laughing at him? He was desperate. He drew out a…certain…weapon of his own, and was about to point it at them, when Amy Cahill shouted out,  
"Of course we enhanced ourselves! But guess what? The serum didn't work on us, not as well as we hoped. And the effects wear off on us in about ten minutes! So you can shoot at us, betray us right now, and we can't do anything about it! Don't you understand? We're here to truce with you!"  
He staggered, and the two burst into hysterical laughter. Again.  
"What? How? Why isn't the serum having an effect on you?" he almost shouted, but kept his composure. They didn't stop laughing, but he waited until the last chuckle came to an end. The two looked into his face. And then those two little annoyances started—

— _laughing again. It was a side effect of serum-drainage, and everything was all too funny. The last of the nasty stuff was draining out of their systems, and she felt her heart beat faster, but her blood pressure sink, and her emotions pouring back into her like some sort of amazing magical potion. It was gratifying. The serum was a curse, and their branch's immunity was not. Yes. It was an immunity. It didn't seem possible—wasn't possible—but the day she and Dan had first taken the serum, they felt their bodies feel powerful, but dead tired at the same time. And in ten minutes, it had worn off. Why? Why didn't it work?  
It was because of…  
Built minds.  
All through the centuries, each Madrigal had vowed to never let themselves loose in the power of the thirty-nine clues. And vowed…  
…to see their family reunited.  
Built minds.  
They were more powerful—are more powerful—than the serum made 500 years ago. Thus resulting in the immunity she and Dan had. Maybe each Madrigal had it. Maybe that was why...  
…they didn't abuse the power that they held. And that was why it wouldn't work on Ian, either. Of course it wouldn't. He wasn't evil. He was a Cobra. He was dancing to the rhythm of Isabel and Cara. Their flutes intertwined, they were forcing him into a dance that went on forever. A dance of their own two wills, unbroken. The deathly tune that every Madrigal was fighting against.  
Built minds.  
Ian didn't understand yet. But he would, soon enough._

Ian didn't understand. He was sure he never would. He, Ian Kabra, was confused and dumbfounded in front of two green-eyed hooligans. Well, one green-eyed hooligan. The other, well, she was a bit more difficult. But difficult in a good way. He blinked and realized that the duo had stopped laughing, but were still grinning. He squinted. There was something different about them. More innocent. More pristine. More shallow. What had happened to them in a short period of laughter? Bipolar disorder? Most unlikely. Insanity? Even more unlikely. He was kidding himself. They were telling the truth. And—he felt holes punch neatly into his teetering pride as he realized this—there was no Archi-whatever. And the serum wore out on Amy in ten minutes. He had been fooled by these two. And now, they were suggesting a truce. Against whom? Of course he knew. They were talking about—

— _Cara and Isabel, of course. They had already gotten the Holts', the Starlings', Jonah Wizard and his father, Alistair, the Madrigals, and of course all four branches' power on their side. If Isabel were to be taken down, then maybe, maybe, it would be all right. But then, Ian opened his mouth to speak. Amy's heart jumped again, and she didn't bother to suppress it. This was an important moment._

This was quite an insignificant moment. They were too naïve. He opened his mouth to speak.  
"No." he said flatly. He wanted nothing to do with this little arrangement. Isabel had the whole Lucian force, and Cara had some of the Ekats on her side. How would a couple of Madrigals overthrow them? They were im—

— _Possible to overthrow. Let's think optimistically. Ian, do you think the others wouldn't join in this battle? Come on, come on. I can tell. We've almost got you. But maybe one more push would be necessary…  
"We've got the Tomas, the Janus, the—"_

"—Ekaterina, and the Madrigals on our side. We…we need _some_ Lucian power…" She was wheedling him, and the fact that her eyes opened even wider, and her strands of auburn hair were spread out quite nicely on her shoulde— _stop_. Ian stopped right there. But his calculating, cunning, strategic mind came into play as the tendrils of unrequited emotion slithered back down into the depths. Four branches…well…three and six sevenths, let's say, against one and one seventh…that could be…

" _Interesting." Ian mumbled. She and Dan grinned at each other. So much for being loyal to his mother and so-called girlfriend. Amy liked where this was going.  
"Well," Dan said nonchalantly, much happier and brighter now the serum had worn off, "If you don't want to, we'll disappear right into this muck, and we'll be out of your sight. Hooray, right? _But _, if you accept our deal, we'll be there, dude. Time to come to the right side." With that, Dan strutted off, and he and Amy gradually faded into the swirling fog, each step making their figures more and more incoherent. They waited, occasionally swallowing, just out of view. Then Ian came, and bumped right into her. Her face was warming up, but she hoped the cool veils of fog concealed it. Of course, he didn't bother apologizing. Typical Lucian pride. He was panting, but trying not to breathe, to hide that he had come so quickly. To give the illusion that he had come with nonchalance, and with reluctance._

They led him on.

 _They led him on._

And he followed.

 _And he followed.  
_

**Whew! Wow! Okay. Well, as I hope some of you have figured out, the** plain letters **are Ian's POV, and the letters with** _italics_ **are Amy's POV. And I think that I stated my three reasons for Amian being the better ship among the two (Carian V.S. Amian). In case you didn't catch that, here they are.**

 **Cara and Ian are too alike, and as we all know from the super cliché statement, opposites attract.**

 **This is AU, but I tried to make a point of Amy being overall nicer to Ian than Cara by stating that  
(a) Cara went over to the dark side.  
(b) Amy is so freakin' nice that the serum doesn't work on her and her brother after centuries of built minds, and what the heck? Sometimes life is just a battle of wills. This story focused around the battle between the serum's seemingly invincible power and the wills built up over the centuries. Amy and Dan have strong wills which prevent them from going stir-crazy over the serum. So it wears off in ten minutes, bringing elation along with it, because having infinite power isn't always pleasant. **

**Okay, now let me just say that this was totally AU. Please don't leave any reviews that say something like "But Amy took the serum in the Vesper series and she almost died and…" Because I know. And I hated the Vesper series. Just being honest here. (It was…lame. Sorry.) And this story is not canon to anything that happened in any of the series. I just pictured a world when Isabel is just…a jerk. Like always. But anyway.**

 **I don't like couples that ease into relationships really quickly. In here I hope most of you will be able to see the slight feelings of attraction that Amy and Ian have for each other. But the feelings will grow…**

 **And I hope that others will notice that first, the story was operated on completely different POV's repeating what characters say in different perspectives. However, as the story moves on, the POV's almost start completing each other, almost communicating. They are getting closer even during this small interrogation. So, um, I hope you enjoyed, and please R &R!**


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